The European Heart Network has issued the third edition of its report on CVD statistics in Europe. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main cause of death in the EU with over 2 million people dying from CVD every year. Moreover, the statistics published in this report indicate that there are significant inequalities between Member States and that together, CVD across all Member States is estimated to cost the EU economy €192 billion a year, which raises concern when compared to the 2008 EU budget of €129.1billion. Of the total cost of CVD in the EU, 57% is due to direct health care cost, 21% to productivity losses and 22% to the informal care of people with CVD.http://www.ehnheart.org/content/sectionintro.asp?level0=1457